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Indonesia quake, tsunami toll jumps to 1,234

October 02, 2018 14:33 IST

More than 1,200 people are now known to have died in the quake-tsunami that smashed into Sulawesi, Indonesia said on Tuesday.

The 7.5-magnitude quake struck just off the central island of Sulawesi, setting off a tsunami that engulfed the coastal city of Palu.

People there are growing increasingly desperate for food, fuel and water. Almost 200,000 people are in need of urgent help, the United Nations says, among them thousands of children.

Here are some shocking images of the devastation.

A ship is seen stranded on the shore after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area in Wani, Donggala, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/Muhammad Adimaja/Reuters
 

Motorcyclists pass a damaged section of a road following the earthquake in Palu. Rescue efforts have been hampered by a lack of heavy machinery, severed transport links, the scale of the damage, and the Indonesian government's reluctance to accept foreign help. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

Soldiers move dead bodies of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami during a mass burial at the Poboya Cemetery in Palu. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that there were 191,000 people in urgent need of help after the quake-tsunami, among them 46,000 children and 14,000 elderly -- many in areas that aren't the focus of government recovery efforts. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

A woman walks near a beach that was hit by the tsunami in Palu. The dead -- many yet uncounted, their bodies still trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings -- are also a source of concern for authorities. Photograph: Beawiharta/Reuters

Rescue team members work among the ruins of Roa-Roa hotel after the earthquake in Palu, in Indonesia's Sulawesi Island. Two people have been plucked from the 80-room Hotel Roa-Roa, Indonesia's search and rescue agency said, and there could still be more alive. Photograph: Beawiharta/Reuters

Rescue team members carry a dead body as they walk among ruins after the earthquake in Palu. Trucks stacked with corpses wrapped in orange, yellow and black bags are bringing their load to the site, where the bodies are dragged into the grave as excavators pour soil on top. Photograph: Beawiharta/Reuters

Residents walk near Baiturrahman mosque which was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/Akbar Tado/Reuters

An aerial view of an area devastated by an earthquake in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/ Hafidz Mubarak A/Reuters

An Indonesian soldier carries an elderly woman evacuated after an earthquake and tsunami hit Palu at Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. In Palu, signs propped along roads read "We Need Food" and "We Need Support," while children begged for cash in the streets and long lines of cars snarled traffic as people waited for fuel. Photograph: Antara Foto/Sahrul Manda Tikupadang/Reuters

A bridge lies destroyed after being hit by a tsunami in Palu, Indonesia. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

A man walks past a car that has been wedged into a building by a tsunami in Palu. With hospitals damaged, injured people have been treated in the open and at least one military field hospital has been set up. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

An uprooted tree sits beneath a building following the tsunami. Vice-President Jusuf Kalla has said the final death toll could be in the thousands while the Red Cross estimates that more than 1.6 million people have been affected. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

Residents walk on cracked tarmac as they carry their belongings after an earthquake hit at Balaroa sub-district in Palu. Photograph: Beawiharta/Reuters

A man carries his belongings from his house after tsunami hit Lolik beach near Palu. Photograph: Beawiharta/Reuters

An injured man is evacuated on a military aircraft following an earthquake and tsunami at Mutiara Sis Al Jufri Airport in Palu, Central Sulawesi. Photograph: Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak A/Reuters
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